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| Starting the Via Alpina green route |
Zurich is a beautiful city and has a lovely old city feeling with its statues, old buildings and tram lines, we arrived after 9pm and were able to get a tram straight to our accomodation. The accomodation was "fine" but somehow our bed and breakfast was bed only. In the kitchen our hosts were enjoying a lovely beakfast spread but we were advised "tap water only" not a good start to the day, but we decided not to fight it and left asap. Just outside the acommodation there was a park which just invited us in and we were struck by the statues and peacefulness.
On the train and bus ride from Zurich to Liechenstein we were mesmerised by the absolute beauty around us of the lakes, the mountains, the churches and the wooden houses, it was just like the chocolate box pictures and we could not stop pointing out the new sights to each other. Vaduz is most likely one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Vaduz castle looks over Vaduz and it can be seen from afar from almost any point in Vaduz.
We then journeyed to Eschen where we met the most wonderful couple Bennita and Chris who are both native Liechtensteiners and they were very hospitable and their passion and knowledge was inpiring. We spent the night in their beautifully renovated house which had the original stove, attached barn and cider room. We were offered Liechtennstein beer which was very nice considering that Beverley does not drink beer at all, but she still has not been converted. They took us to the point where the borders of Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein met when Lisa expressed interest in the location. We also dipped our toes in the beautiful man made swimming lake near Eschen and on our way back passed by a small church where witches were prosecuted. We slept on a water bed for the first time, we were so exhausted from the journey so far that we didnt hear the church bell ringing every hour.
Our hike from Vaduz to Sargans started with the crossing of the wooden bridge over the Rhine, it was a very hot day, 35ยบ and the route was mainly in the sun with little shade covering, but the scenery was worth it all. Along the walk we could hear we were getting close to a farm by the cow bells ringing, long before we reached them. We have never drank as much water as we did today but every little village we passed on the way had little fountains to fill up.
The village of Sevelen did not dissapoint us, it had beautiful wooden houses and the trail led to Gretschins. The Wartau castle ruins are beautiful and we met up with a group of young kids on a school trip near the castle. We had a little nap on the way lying under the trees, dozing off while listening to the cow bells (on the sheep) and rushing the river. The castle and church in Sargans are definitely worth the walk.
